The Gods Read PJO
by louisUsass
Summary: The Olympians are having their Winter Solstice Meeting again and as usual they do what they always do. Argue. But for some reason,this meeting has taken a huge turn. They receive a package with five books from the future.. Watch as our favorite Olympians read about the dangers and adventures their children will experience in the future.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So I'm doing the usual story again. The gods reading the percy jackson series. I know, I know. Many have done it already. But you see, only a few have been able to actually finish the series. I'll try my hardest to update regularly. Hopefully, you'll like my story. Oh,and thank you to all those who also wrote this kind of stories. they were great and they gave me inspiration to write. So once again,thank you. I have probably read all the stories concerning about the characters of PJO reading the books.**

**here goes nothing!**

* * *

The Olympians were having their annual Winter Solstice meeting again. As usual, they do what they do best. Argue.

Athena and Poseidon were squabbling over god-knows-what.

Demeter was telling Hades how important it is for daughters to be with their mothers always.

Hera was complaining to Zeus about how imperfect their family is.

Hephaestus and Ares were having a bragging-war over whose weapons were the best. (funny how Ares forgets that Hephaestus is actually the one in charge of _making _their weapons)

Aphrodite was busy criticizing Dionysus about his choice of clothes.

Apollo and Hermes were talking about the latest basketball game and betting over what team's going to win next.

Lastly, Artemis was confiding in Hestia about how she was losing her hunters because of those despicable men.

Suddenly, a bright light engulfed the whole room, halting all conversations. Then out of nowhere, a package appeared on Athena's lap.

"What's this?" Athena asked, surprised.

"A package obviously." Ares snorted. Hermes and Apollo snickered.

Athena rolled her eyes. "I mean, what is _this_ doing here." She gestured at the package.

"Well, maybe if you stop asking questions we don't know the answers of and just open it, we'll find out." Poseidon pointed out. Athena glared at him but did as he said nonetheless. After tearing off the wrapper, she found a note inside addressed to them.

"_Dear Olympians of the past,_

_ The great Hermes and Apollo here. So we had this awesome idea of sending our past selves these five books from the future. If you're reading this now, then that must mean we managed to pull it off. You are not allowed to do anything drastic that might change the course of the future. You are only to read the books._

_Love,_

_(once again) the Great Hermes and Apollo. __" _read Athena.

"We are so awesome." Apollo and Hermes high-fived each other.

"What are the books' titles?" Demeter asked.

"Well, they all start with _Percy Jackson and the Olympians. _The only thing that changes are _The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, _and_ The Last Olympian." _Athena answered.

"The titles sound interesting." Hestia commented.

"So, should we read it?" Artemis asked aloud.

Hephaestus shrugged. "There's nothing better to do anyway."

"And this meeting's going nowhere." Hades added.

"It's better than listening to this _psycho _complain about my clothes." Dionysus said, pointing at Aphrodite.

"Hey!" Aphrodite frowned "I was trying to _help _you."

Before Dionysus could retort, Zeus interrupted. "Vote for who wants to read it." Everyone except Hera and Poseidon raised their hands.

"This isn't what this meeting is about." She crossed her arms and frowned.

Poseidon, on the other hand, had other reasons why he didn't want to read the books. He thought about their titles. Particularly the name _mentioned _with the titles.

_No, it couldn't be. This cannot be my Percy. He's still 2 years old. _He thought. _But if this really is from the future then... _Poseidon didn't even want to think about it. Judging from the titles, he didn't think this was a fairytale book.

Before he could dwell anymore on the matter, Athena started reading.

"**Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Chapter 1: I Accidentally Vaporize my Pre-Algebra Teacher."**

* * *

**So,what did you think with the prologue? haha,hope it was enough to stir your interest. So Im currently working on the next chapter. Please review :)**


	2. Vaporizing Pre-Algebra Teachers

**Hey guys! finally done with chap 1. Phew! Making this kind of stories is pretty hard (and tiring). **

**Hope you guys will enjoy this :)**

**Megaranger66- Thank you so much for being the first one to review :)**

**Little Unusual Me-Thank you and I'll be looking forward to reading your version of these kind of fanfics.**

**kpoisawesome- Thank you for thinking my first chap is awesome. I'll try to update regularly (and soon).**

**Nanu Kitty-Thank you. I'll try recommending some good ones to you but they haven't really finished the whole series. some just stopped until Sea of Monsters. There's so many good authors out there! Try PJWings and BookReader10.**

**thank you to these four who were my first reviewers(and hopefully not my last). ;)**

**Alright, like I always say. Here goes nothing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. That is all Rick Riordan's.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"**Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Chapter 1: I Accidentally Vaporize my Pre-Algebra Teacher" **Athena began.

"Still the first chapter's title and I can already tell that this book's gonna be epic." Apollo grinned.

"How do you vaporize a teacher anyway?" Hermes wondered.

"Obviously this chapter is going to explain it, so keep your mouths shut and let Athena continue." Hera glared at them.

"Seriously, we didn't even get past the title yet and they're already fighting." Zeus grumbled.

The others shook their heads in agreement and some in amusement. Zeus waved for Athena to go on.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. **Athena continued.

"Being a half-blood is awesome." Ares said.

"You get cool powers too." Hermes added.

"Yeah, like healing"

"Or summoning fire"

"Or being absolutely gorgeous"

"Or making people insane"

"But not as cool as summoning lightning"

"Or controlling water"

"Or calling upon the dead"

"And growing cereal, never forget about the power of growing cereal."

"Really woman," Hades sneered "growing cereal, really?"

Hera, Artemis, Hestia and Athena's eyes twitched watching their family fight about which power is the coolest.

"ENOUGH!" Athena shouted, "EVERYBODY SHUT UP AND LET ME CONTINUE READING! I DO NOT WANT YOU TO INTERRUPT ME AFTER EVERY SINGLE LINE! UNDERSTAND?!"

The others grumbled in agreement and sat back properly in their thrones.

"Okay, where was I? Right. "**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now.**

**Believe what-ever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life."**

"Like that'll work" Ares rolled his eyes. Athena glared at him to shut up.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

All the gods looked down in sadness except for Hera(who doesn't have any kids) and Dionysus(who will be rather pleased if there were less brats to take care of in that camp).

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to **

**believe that none of this ever happened. But if you recognize yourself in these pages—if you feel something **

**stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of **

**time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

"This kid's thoughts are kind of dramatic, don't you think?" Hermes remarked amusedly.

"Yeah, kinda like Zeus." Apollo added. Then the both of them snickered. The others ignored them and nodded for Athena to continue.

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

Poseidon squirmed uneasily on his throne. Fortunately, no one was paying him any attention.

**I'm twelve years old.**

"Such a young age." Hestia shook her head sadly.

**Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

A chorus of "Yes" and "Yeah" were heard around the throne room.

"Every demigod is a troubled kid." Dionysus rolled his eyes.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

The gods chuckled.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it,**

"Miserable?" Hestia asked.

"All demigod lives are miserable at one point." Demeter answered her.

**but things really started going bad last**

**May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental-case kids and two **

**teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

All the male gods and Aphrodite groaned.

**I know—it sounds like torture.**

The gods laughed at this.

"It is not!" Athena defended. The other gods looked at her like she'd just grown another head.

"What?" she asked.

Apollo and Hermes shook their heads.

"Athena, sister" Apollo began, "Let me tell you one thing. Museums"

"Are" Hermes continued

"Absolute" Ares added

"Torture!" they finished together. Athena scowled then muttered something like "Idiots."

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

_Mr Brunner...Now where have I heard that name before? _Dionysus thought.

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee.**

"Sounds like Chiron" Dionysus snorted.

**You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this **

**awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"Definitely Chiron." Dionysus smirked while the other gods chuckled.

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

"Trouble are demigods' middle name." Artemis shook her head. The others silently agreed.

**Boy, was I wrong.**

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips.**

"We wouldn't have guessed." Hermes snickered.

**Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the**

**Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.**

The Olympians laughed, some clutching their thrones for support.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark **

**pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before **

**that... Well, you get the idea.**

By now everyone was howling in laughter. Apollo and Hermes were sprawled on the floor, gasping for breaths.

"Oh god, this kid is just awesome." Apollo said between breaths, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Oh Percy..." Hestia chuckled..

Once everyone regained their composure, Athena continued.

**This trip, I was determined to be good.**

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best **

**friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

The goddesses gagged and the male gods had a look of disgust on their faces.

_The nerve of that brat. Doing that to my satyr. Only I'm allowed to do that. _Dionysus silently fumed.

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back **

**several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On **

**top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some **

**kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him,**

"Must suck for the satyr." Hephaestus said sympathetically.

**but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

The gods laughed lightly.

"Oh dear, that satyr's going to blow his cover sooner than he expected." Artemis shook her head, amused.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I **

**couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation.**

"Don't let that hold you back, kid." Ares grumbled.

**The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even **

**mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"That head-master is just horrible. He should act more fairly." Hera scolded the book.

"What?" she asked them when they all gave her weird looks, "You don't think I'm capable of caring for a child-even if he is a half-blood?" she frowned.

They chose not to answer her and turned back to Athena.

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"Yes do it!" Ares goaded.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

"Aww, no-fun satyrs." Ares grumbled.

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

"Such a good friend. Though I would have preferred if he just let him go." Hestia frowned, "I am not liking this _ Nancy _

girl very much." The other Olympians stared at her since it is rare for Hestia to encourage any form of violence.

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been **

**nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

Poseidon gripped his armrest tightly. _Oh Percy, what kind of trouble do you get into? _Even though he's not yet sure if this was _his _Percy, he was still worried.

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

Athena sighed dreamily. _Alright, after reading all these books, I am going to a museum. _She got excited just by thinking about her plans.

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"Longer than that kid." Hades smirked.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how **

**it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides.**

The Olympians tried to remember this girl and all their faces scrunched up in concentration.

**I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was **

**talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil **

**eye.**

"Every school has those kind of teachers." Hermes chuckled.

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker.**

"Cool, a Harley." Ares whistled. Aphrodite shuddered, just thinking about those motorcycles ruining her perfect hair.

**She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown. From **

**her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn.**

"Birds of the same feathers, flock together." Apollo and Hermes laughed.

**She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get **

**after-school detention for a month.**

"Creepy" Hermes, Ares, and Apollo shuddered.

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight,**

"Sucks to be this guy." Apollo chuckled.

**I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"What is she?" Artemis wondered.

Hades shifted in his seat, having a little idea of who this _Mrs. Dodds _really is.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, **

**"Will you shut up?" It came out louder than I meant it to.**

The gods snickered.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

"That kid's gonna get it." Hephaestus smirked.

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

"You can never escape from Chiron." Dionysus stated.

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it.**

"At least he's been listening to Chiron." Athena commented.

**"That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia groaned.

Zeus massaged his temple, "It just _had _to be that one."

"What a terrible father he was." Hestia frowned.

"Terrible doesn't even cover it." Hades muttered.

"I never want to go back to that filthy stomach again." Hera stated with disgust.

"Such an awful place to be in." Demeter shook her head.

"That's an understatement." Poseidon grumbled and the other oldest gods nodded in agreement.

The second-generation gods all gave them sympathetic looks.

**"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because ..."**

**"Well..." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"**

"GOD?!" Zeus bellowed, "INSOLENT CHILD!"

"_As if!"_ Aphrodite said disdainfully.

"He only _wish _he's as awesome as us." Apollo glowered. All the Olympians started talking at once about the absurdity of Kronos being a god.

"Honestly, what do they teach in that mortal school of theirs." Athena shook her head, frowning.

"Relax brother. I'm sure Chiron will correct this _Percy." _Poseidon tried to calm him.

"Fine." Zeus grumbled knowing Poseidon was right. Chiron wouldn't let such an _insult _pass.

Athena saw Poseidon sigh in relief. She raised her eyebrow at him but he just waved his hand, telling her to keep on reading.

_That kelp-head sure is acting weird, _she thought.

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

"See?" Poseidon nervously smiled. The other Olympians nodded their head, albeit reluctantly.

_Phew, saved my (probably) son from impending doom, _he thought.

**"Titan," I corrected myself.**

"At least he had the decency to correct himself." Zeus grumbled.

**And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, **

**and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead.**

Zeus puffed his chest and flashed a smug smile to his two brothers.

"I always knew I was Mother's favourite." He smirked.

Hades, Poseidon, Demeter and Hera rolled their eyes.

"No wonder Mother Rhea thought of that idea. Zeus probably resembled a rock." Hades pretended to whisper toPoseidon, although it was very loud for everyone to hear. Poseidon snorted and some of the gods snickered.

Zeus glared at the two of them then slumped back on his throne, crossing his arms..

**And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"**

"At least I didn't have to go through _that._ Zeus smirked at them again, regaining his pride.

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

"You got that right." Demeter said silently.

**"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

"I have grudging respect for this _Percy._ Summarizing one of the greatest war in one sentence." Athena muttered.

Chuckles echoed around the room.

**Some snickers from the group.**

"Why would they laugh about that?" Hestia furrowed her forehead.

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say **

**on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

"You never know..." Hermes said with a mysterious voice.

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Busted" snickered Apollo.

**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

Now it was Hermes turn to snicker at Apollo.

"Great. I'm starting to think like a satyr." Apollo mumbled, glaring at Hermes.

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

"How is that even possible?" Aphrodite asked, appalled.

**Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

"Radar ears." Dionysus snorted, "Perfect way to describe Chiron."

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

"Boys. Clueless as ever." Artemis rolled her eyes.

**"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture **

**of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children,**

Athena paused and shuddered, so did the other Olympians.

**who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach.**

"It was getting stuffy living in there together." Hera said.

**The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, **

**the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back **

**outside?"**

"Finally lunch." Hermes and Apollo sighed dreamily, at the same time that their stomachs grumbled. They looked at each other then grinned. Summoning a plateful of food, they started digging into it.

Artemis shot them a disgusted look. "Honestly, I can't believe we're even related." she shook her head then looked away from them.

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doo-fuses.**

"They _always _act like doo-fuses." Artemis remarked, "See? We've got two examples right there." She said, pointing at Hermes and Apollo who looked up at her, their mouths full of food.

"I could never agree more." Athena nodded.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

"What? He's in trouble?"Poseidon asked, shock.

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years **

**old and had seen everything.**

"Well, not _everything._" Aphrodite giggled, having something else in mind.

Ares and Hephaestus stared at her like she'd just gone gaga(which she probably has).

She giggled again then motioned for Athena to go on.

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the **

**best from you, Percy Jackson."**

"Pushing it a little hard, eh Chiron?" Dionysus smirked.

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

Apollo and Hermes, just finished eating, laughed.

"Haha, Dionysus thinks like Percy."

Dionysus scowled at them but they ignored him.

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and **

**shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek **

**and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

"Sounds amazing." Athena said dreamily.

"Only you would find that amazing owl-face." Poseidon snorted.

Athena's only response was a glare and a "Whatever kelp-head."

**Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention **

**deficit disorder and I had never made above a C— in my life.**

"C-" Athena, Hermes and Apollo gasped, though for two _very _different reasons.

**No—he didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"It's for your own good, kid." Hephaestus stated.

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been **

**at this girl's funeral.**

"He probably was." Hestia said sadly.

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth**

**Avenue.**

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city.**

Everyone shot looks at Zeus which he ignored.

**I figured maybe it was global warming or something,**

"Silly mortals. If only they knew." Hera sneered.

**because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas.**

"I wonder what happened in the Winter Solstice." Athena thought aloud.

**We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this **

**was a hurricane blowing in.**

"Now you're definitely mad." Apollo pointed out.

"Seems like Uncle Poseidon is too." Artemis added.

"Wonder what's got your panties in a twist." Ares snickered which the two gods rewarded him with an electric shock and being doused in freezing water.

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers.**

"Disrespectful boys. Doing that to animals." Artemis snapped.

**Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse,**

"Hope she isn't my child." Hermes shuddered.

Apollo pretended to think, "I don't know bro, so far she's got all the qualities needed for a child of Hermes."

Hermes scowled at him which Apollo replied with a grin.

**and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, **

**everybody wouldn't know we were from that school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it **

**elsewhere.**

The gods tried to suppress their chuckles but of course, some of them weren't able to hold it in (you know who they are).

"Brilliant plan kid." Ares snorted.

_Oh Percy, you could make it anywhere. _Poseidon thought. _Wait, what? I'm not even sure if he is my child. _But even as he thought it, he had a strong feeling that this could be _his _Percy.

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

Artemis and Athena snorted. Poseidon internally glared at them.

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical **

**comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

The gods bursts out laughing.

"Deep philosophical comment, yeah right." Dionysus snorted.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat.**

"Aww, he's homesick." Aphrodite cooed.

**I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad **

**to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try **

**harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I **

**wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

All the goddesses cooed, minus Athena and Artemis who were starting to think thatmaybe this kid isn't so stupid.

"Wuss" Ares coughed then looked innocently when the goddesses glared at him.

"What?"

Aphrodite answered him with a stiletto.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a **

**paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

"Cool, we have _got _to get one of those." Apollo and Hermes said together.

"Think of all the things we could do with it." They paused then broke into maniacal grin.

"Awesome!" Apollo exclaimed then gave Hermes a high-five.

Hera looked horrified, thinking of how much damage those two could do to her palace while Zeus pressed his forehead, thinking of how Hera's gonna complain to him nonstop about this.

Hera shot him a we're-going-to-talk-about-this-later-look which confirmed his worst nightmare. Getting another earful from Hera.

_Why must my family be like this, why? _He groaned internally.

He waved for Athena to continue.

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess **

**she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

"Eew" the goddesses shrieked (Aphrodite the loudest).

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-**

**painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

"This girl is an embarrassment to women." Artemis said disgustingly.

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper."**

"Let it loose kid. Pound that mortal." Ares commented.

**But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

"_A wave?" _Zeus asked, his voice bordering control.

Now the gods were shooting looks to Poseidon.

He gulped and looked down. He was now absolutely sure this was his child, his Percy, and now his brothers are going to come after him.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, **

**screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

"What happened?" Apollo asked.

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

**"—the water—"**

**"—like it grabbed her—"**

"POSEIDON!" Zeus and Hades shouted. They bounded to him so fast the other gods didn't even get a chance to stop them. Zeus gripped his shirt while Hades held him in place.

"YOU BROKE THE OATH?" Zeus and Hades asked at the same time.

"Brother please-" Poseidon tried to reason with them.

"NO EXCUSES BROTHER! I am going to kill that _child _of yours." Zeus spat.

Now Poseidon was mad. He pushed Zeus and Hades off him that they almost lost their balance.

"Don't act so just with me,_ little brother_. I know you have sired a child as well." Poseidon said, pointing his trident at Zeus. Everyone's eyes widened.

"_What?!_" Hera shrieked, eyes flashing in disbelief, then anger.

Zeus face turned red. "Wh-what are you-?" he stammered.

"Oh, don't act so innocent with me. I know you had a child with that mortal TV-star woman." Poseidon said bitterly.

Hades turned his head toward Zeus.

"Is that true, brother?" Hades asked him, his voice steely calm.

"What are you talking about?" Zeus answered him but there was edge to his voice.

Hades must have noticed it too because he lunged at Zeus, tackling him to the ground.

Ares was lounging on his throne, his feet propped up on a stool he somehow summoned, eating a bowl of popcorn.

"Now _this _is what I'm talking about." He said between bites, "Nothing beats like the "Big Three" fights." He had a maniacal grin plastered on his face.

Athena and Artemis glared at him.

"Father, please, calm-" Athena was interrupted by Hera's ear-splitting shriek.

"_You did! How could you?!_" Hera was now standing, pointing an accusatory finger at Zeus.

Zeus and Hades struggled on the floor.

"Am I the only one who kept that cursed oath?!" Hades screamed in frustration. Zeus finally broke free out of his grasp and pushed Hades off him.

They both stood up, Zeus rubbing his neck.

"Fine, I broke the oath." Zeus admitted. Poseidon smirked.

"Wipe that smile off your face. You're no better." Zeus pointed at him and his smile wavered.

Hades _literally _tore his hair off. "What was the point of making that "_sacred oath" _if you two-" he glared at his brothers "were going to break it anyway?"

They started fighting again, Hera included. Before they could start using their godly powers, Athena ordered the others to restrain them. Apollo and Hermes were holding down Zeus; Hephaestus, Artemis and Aphrodite were on Poseidon; Dionysus and Hestia were trying to calm down Hades; while Demeter was holding back Hera. Ares was just sitting on his throne, enjoying the show.

"Let me go!" Hera shouted, "I'm going to teach that cursed husband of mine _never _to cheat on me again" she snarled.

Hades, Zeus and Poseidon were trying to pry off their restrainers as well, though they wouldn't budge.

Athena sighed, "Father, please just _calm down_ and think clearly. Same for you too Uncles and Hera. _This _has already happened and we cannot do anything about it. Let's just finish the books and see how it worked out in the end" she reasoned.

The elder gods scowled but reluctantly calmed down. They returned to their thrones, the others following.

"Aww, why'd you stop?" Ares whined.

The other gods glared at him.

"Shut up Ares." Artemis scowled. That shut him up.

Athena sighed again. "Okay, on with the books."

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

Zeus and Hades glared at Poseidon who glared back at them. No one said anything, the obvious tension filling the room.

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum **

**gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something **

**she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey—"**

_Something's not right here. _Athena thought. She looked up at the others and saw that they had stopped glaring and scowling, but are now focusing on the book.

**"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"That's not the right thing to say. Never _ever _guess your punishment. You'll just get into deeper trouble." Hermes shook his head and Apollo nodded in agreement.

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me.I pushed her."**

"What's wrong with Grover?" Hestia asked.

"He's suddenly protecting him." Demeter stated.

"Maybe it's a monster?" Aphrodite guessed. Poseidon gripped his throne tightly upon hearing that. He prayed that Aphrodite was wrong.

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

_This is getting weird. _The Olympians thought.

**"But—"**

**"You—will—stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

"What a nice friend." Hestia sighed.

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me."Now."**

"She' so pushy for some reason." Demeter said aloud.

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

Ares laughed. "Ha! I bet that kid's stare has got nothing on me." He started showing it which everyone ignored.

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there.**

"Where did she go?" Poseidon asked, panic laced in his voice.

That's what the others wanted to know as well.

**She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

"That's fast. Even for a mortal." Hephaestus muttered.

Hades eye twitched. He was now sure it was Alecto. He probably learned that this kid is Poseidon's son. _Oh gods, _

_now Barnacle beard's going to kill me, _he thought.

**How'd she get there so fast?**

"Exactly what we want to know." Athena said quietly.

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed **

**something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The **

**school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

"That must be hard for those demigods." Hestia said while having a sympathetic look on her face. The other gods

who have children (yes, including Ares and Dionysus) looked down in guilt. They never wished that for their children.

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

"Something's definitely wrong." Athena commented. "I wish Chiron would notice." She continued.

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and**

**Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on,**

"Hmm, the satyr senses something. Maybe that teacher _isn't _a mortal after all." Artemis thought out loud.

Poseidon wanted to glare at Artemis, wishing with all his might that she's wrong. Wrong wrong wrong!

**but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

"It isn't like Chiron not to notice that." Dionysus stated.

Now Poseidon was glaring at the book. _Stupid Chiron. My son needs you! _He thought angrily though he knew his

anger wasn't really directed at Chiron.

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

Poseidon started loosening his grip on his throne. _Maybe that was the case_, he thought, relieved.

**But apparently that wasn't the plan**

Poseidon tensed again, so did the others.

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman **

**section. Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

"This kid definitely got the best luck." Apollo stated sarcastically.

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this **

**weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

"Growling?" most of the gods exclaimed.

"She's definitely not human." Hermes said.

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs.**

**Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

_If she's really a monster, she probably does. _Athena thought grimly.

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

"At least this kid knows a thing or two." Hermes cracked a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. He was now

starting to worry about Percy.

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

"Get away with what?" "What is she talking about?" these questions swirled around the room.

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

"What kind of monster _is she?_" Aphrodite asked.

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"Wrong Percy." Apollo mumbled, shaking his head lightly.

**I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

"Zeus! If you're in league with this monster, I swear-" Poseidon glared at Zeus. Zeus glared back but said nothing.

He wanted to know as well if he was the one who sent this monster.

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. **

**Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

"Confess about what?" Athena asked, exasperated. "It sucks not knowing anything." She sulked.

Hestia touched her arm and said, "Relax niece. I'm sure the book's going to explain it soon."

Athena nodded grudgingly, still not liking the fact that for once she doesn't have any idea what's going on. She

returned to reading.

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my **

**dorm room.**

There were light chuckles but it didn't ease the tension in the room.

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay onTom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and **

**now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

Athena huffed. There was nothing wrong with reading, _and _the book is pretty good.

**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

All the Olympians tensed, knowing something bad was gonna happen to Percy. Ares on the other hand was now giddy with excitement.

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning **

**into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shrivelled hag with bat **

**wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

There was silence and then,

"A FURY? YOU SENT A FURY AFTER MY SON?" Poseidon yelled at Hades.

"YOU WOULD TOO IF YOU KNEW SOMEONE BROKE THE OATH!" Hades yelled back. Poseidon was about to cross the

room and strangle him when Hestia stopped him, shaking her head. Hestia was his favourite sister and he rarely

_ever _not listen to her. He sat back grudgingly but still glared at Hades who was avoiding looking at him.

**Then things got even stranger.**

"What now?" Poseidon rubbed his temple.

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the **

**gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

By the mention of Chiron/Brunner, Poseidon's head snapped up. He had never felt so happy hearing Chiron's name and was now regretting ever getting angry at him (though not intentionally).

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

"A pen?! What's a pen going to do?" Apollo screamed, equally worried for his cousin as well.

Poseidon smiled internally, knowing what the pen really was.

_Maybe he's still got a chance, _he thought hopefully.

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

Everyone was leaning into their seats, gripping their thrones just as hard as Poseidon is.

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but **

**when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore.**

"What happened?" Demeter asked.

**It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

Their eyes widened, shocked that a pen could turn into a sword.

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Wuss" Ares mumbled silently. Thankfully for him, Poseidon was preoccupied.

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

**And she flew straight at me.**

Poseidon's grip was now so hard, Hestia had to touch his hand in order for him to loosen a little.

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

The room was so silent, you could hear a pin drop.

"Did he do it?" Hermes barely whispered but with the silence, everyone could hear it loud and clear.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of !**

Everyone broke into applause and cheers (by everyone, I meant _everyone _though others cough- Hera-cough-Dionysus-cough were a little secretly).

Poseidon and Hades both let out a breath of relief. Poseidon, because his son is out of

danger (for now); and Hades, because he has saved himself from Poseidon's wrath.

"Looks like this kid's not so bad." Ares smirked.

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving **

**nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two red eyes were **

**still watching me.**

Hephaestus whistled, "Kid killing a fury on his first try. Impressive."

**I was alone.**

"Huh?" confusion swept the room.

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

"Where did Chiron go?" everyone asked aloud.

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"Sure, blame the mushroom." Demeter rolled her eyes, annoyed that it's _always _the mushroom. Mushrooms weren't _that _bad.

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

"I don't think anyone could imagine something like that." Athena shook her head. She had a small smile tugging on the corners of her lips, secretly glad that the sea-spawn survived.

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing**

**there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I**

**hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"Mrs. Who?" most of the Olympians asked. Others just looked confused.

**I said, "Who?"**

**"Our teacher. Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

Athena snapped her fingers. "The mist! Of course." She blurted.

Understanding dawned on them.

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

"That must be pretty hard." Hestia commented.

"I wonder why he's still letting the mist affect him." Athena said, shaking her head.

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

"Dude, we got to teach that satyr some lying tricks. That would rea-"

"Oh no you don't!" Dionysus cut off Hermes. "You are _not _teaching my satyrs the "art of lying"." Dionysus said, air quoting some words.

"But Mr. D-" Hermes and Apollo tried to reason with him.

"I said no." Dionysus glared. The two young gods pouted.

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

"Ok, what am I angry about?" Zeus asked aloud but no one answered him.

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, **

**Mr. Jackson."**

"Chiron's _good._" Hermes praised.

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

"Very good." Apollo agreed.

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I **

**know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"And that's the end of the teacher." Athena finished, marking page where she stopped.

"Should we continue?" she asked.

"YES!" all the gods shouted.

"I want to know what happens to my son."

"I want to know why I'm angry." Poseidon and Zeus reasoned.

"Okay, who's reading next." Athena asked.

"I will."Demeter volunteered. Athena nodded and passed her the book. She cleared her throat and began,

**Chapter 2: Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death.**

* * *

**sooooo, did you like it? love it? please review! I would very much appreciate it and it would give me confidence to keep on writing.**

**Anyway, I have some bad news. Exams are coming up and I won't be able to update until, maybe this weekend. **

**I promise, as soon as I'm done with these dreadful tests, I'll update right away.**


	3. Old Ladies Knitting Some Socks

**Heeeeeeeeeyyyy, Sexxxxxxxxxy ladyyyyyy! Exams are over! yeah yeah yeah! parteh parteh! haha XD**

**Sorry it took so long, i know i promised last weekend but I was so so busy even after exams. Ugh, too many projects to work on -_-**

**But i finally finished chapter 2. I hope you guys will also like this one ^_^ i worked so hard on it, making it as fast as possible so you guys won't think that I've given up hope on this story already.**

**Btw, Thank you so much for those who reviewed. I appreciate it so much. Please don't stop reviewing. And for those who only view, thank you guys as well for finding the time to read my story but also please find it in your heart to review ;_;**

**Also, thank you for those who informed me that i made some grammar mistakes (like making Hestia a HE), as you can see, i changed it as soon as i can. Thanks once again :)**

**So, a question i would like to answer.**

**Q: Would you bring other characters in, like Percy, Thalia, and Nico?**

**A: I've been thinking about it. But you see, i made this story with the intention of making the gods the main focus. And I'm already having difficulties focusing on the fourteen gods, how much more if i add characters. but don't worry, I'm gonna include Percy, Nico, Thalia, and Annabeth in the story, i just won't tell you what book they're gonna appear ;). **

**I'm really serious in finishing the five books(and maybe include the heroes of olympus soon).**

**Anyways, Enjoy!**

**disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. That's all Rick Riordan's.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death **Demeter read.

"I wonder what happens this time." Hermes laughed.

"_Basically, _it's about three old ladies knitting some socks." Athena answered all too seriously.

All the gods stared at her.

Apollo shook his head.

"And I thought _you _were supposed to be the smart one." He snorted. Hermes snickered in response.

Athena glared at them and said, "Well, seeing as _I'm _the smart one, I thought it would be nice of _me_" she gestured

to herself "to actually grace you _idiots_" she then gestured to the two gods "an answer to your _idiotic _question."

Snickers and chuckles were heard from the other gods. Apollo and Hermes frowned at what just happened. Athena,

seeing their expressions, smirked at them.

Artemis chuckled, "Well brother, as the modern kids would say, 'BURN!'" then Artemis, the-ever-disciplined-and-

composed-Artemis, laughed loudly at her brother.

The two young gods blushed in embarrassment and irritation. They crossed their arms and looked away from the others.

"Continue _please_." Apollo begged.

Demeter stifled her chuckles and continued, **I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle.**

"Poor Percy, that must be so hard." Hestia sighed.

"No kidding." Hermes muttered.

**For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me.**

Apollo shook his head and said, "That's the worst kind of prank."

Artemis arched an eyebrow at him, "How do _you _know that? You've never been to a _school._"

"Well, no, but if the whole Olympian council were in on a joke about me, I think I understand how Percy feels." Apollo pointed out.

"Oh. I guess you have a point." was Artemis' reply.

**The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

"Seriously?" Athena shook her head, still not believing that even through all that, the sea-spawn is still letting the mist affect him.

"I know what you mean sister." Artemis agreed.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up,**

"Not a bad idea." Hephaestus commented.

**but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

"He probably was." Ares snorted which resulted with some snickers and a glare from a certain sea-god.

**It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed. Almost. **

**But Grover couldn't fool me.**

"C'mon D, just admit that this _satyr _needs some lying lessons." Hermes told Dionysus exasperatedly.

Dionysus chose not to respond and just glare at the god of thieves.

"I'll even do it for free." Hermes added with a suggestive smile.

Dionysus rolled his eyes and muttered, "Free my ass."

He gestured for Demeter to keep on reading.

"Fine, whatever. It's your loss anyway." Hermes huffed.

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist.**

"An extremely bad liar." Hermes grumbled, still not letting the _lying issue _go.

"WE GET IT HERMES!" everyone yelled at him, annoyed.

Hermes crossed his arms and pointedly looked away.

"Just trying to help." He grumbled.

**But I knew he was lying.**

**Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.**

"You're just figuring that out now kid?" Ares snorted.

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

"Ooh, Percy dreamingof Mrs. Dodds, _gasp_, what could this possibly mean?" Apollo mocked surprise. Hermes and Ares snickered and gave him high-fives.

Looks of disgust were mirrored on each of the remaining gods' faces, especially Poseidon's.

"That's the sickest joke I've ever heard brother." Artemis said, her voice matching her revolted look.

The sun god didn't seem to mind the comment or just simply chose to ignore it.

Demeter shook her head and continued, **The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood.**

Sick joke forgotten, they all turned to Zeus who was now busy admiring the ceiling.

**One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy.**

"What am I angry about?!" Zeus cried in frustration.

The others gave him sympathetic looks. Surprisingly, it was Hera who calmed him, telling him that the she's sure the

book's going to explain it sometime soon.

**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

"This is your fault." Zeus glared at Poseidon.

Poseidon snapped his head toward Zeus.

"And how, Brother, is this _my _fault exactly?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know but I'm sure this has something to do with you."

Hades snickered and Zeus pointed at him, "You're included in this too. I can feel it."

Hades looked affronted, "Don't you _dare _bring me into this. Clearly this is _your _fight." He said, gesturing at his two brothers.

Demeter began reading again before her brothers could start fighting.

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time.**

"That's not good for a son of Poseidon." Athena commented.

**My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.**

Athena gasped.

"Boys." Artemis shook her head.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends.**

"That's more like it! Looks like this kid still got a chance." Ares grinned.

**I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot.**

Laughters and chuckles were heard around the room.

**I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

"It means-" Athena began but was interrupted by Poseidon.

"We know what it means owl-face." He rolled his eyes.

She scowled at him.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

Hestia frowned and thought, _Every child deserves a chance in education._

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine. **

**I was homesick. I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school**

Aphrodite, Hera, and Demeter awwwed while the others smiled. (Except for, you know who they are)

**and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

Their eyes hardened and Poseidon gripped his trident upon hearing this.

_Who is this mortal? _He thought angrily. (Gabe and Sally didn't marry yet since Percy is still 2 years old)

**And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees.**

"Ahh, sweet sweet nature." Demeter sighed dreamily.

**I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend,**

Aphrodite cooed and Poseidon smiled, glad that his son had a nice friend.

**even if he was a little strange.**

Cue giggles and chuckles.

**I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

"Such a good friend." Hestia smiled.

**I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well. As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.**

"See? My son _does _care about class." Poseidon pointed out to Athena which she graciously responded with a roll of her eyes.

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"Demigod instinct kicking in." Apollo and Hermes sang.

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room.**

Athena's eyes widened in horror. "The nerve!" she gasped.

Poseidon rolled his eyes, "C'mon owl-face, it's not like you haven't thrown a book in your life."

"I haven't actually. I respect books like they're my children." She said, raising her chin in pride.

"More like her lovers." Apollo whispered to Ares and Hermes who snorted in response. When the others gave them

questioning looks, they just waved it off.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.**

"Oh dear, I hope he'll still be able to study." Hestia said, concerned.

"Don't worry sister, he's my son after all. He'll find a way to study." Poseidon smiled at Hestia.

**There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,**

"Oh that's easy. Chiron is that half-horse who trains heroes while Charon is my good-for-nothing, always-asking-

for-a-pay check attendant." Hades answered, waving his hand nonchalantly.

**or Polydictes and Polydeuces.**

"That's another easy one. The difference is-"

"It's the spelling that my son's having trouble in, owl-face." Poseidon interrupted Athena again.

"Do you _have _to butt in always, kelp-head?" Athena glared at him.

**And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

Some of the gods chuckled.

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

"I wonder how that feels?" Apollo asked.

"Care to find out, little brother?" Artemis asked, innocently holding a bucket full of red ants.

Apollo quickly shook his head, "Oh no, I was just wondering sister. You know me, the ever wonderer." He laughed nervously.

"Thought so." Artemis smirked, and then with a flick of her fingers, the bucket disappeared.

Apollo let out a breath, "Close one."

"Whipped, by _his own_ sister." Ares whispered to Hermes but the others heard it.

Snickers and chuckles surrounded the room.

"Shut up!" Apollo hissed at his two brothers, his face bright red from embarrassment.

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes.**

"How old _is_ Chiron anyway?" Demeter wondered.

Everyone turned to Dionysus.

"What?" he asked distractedly, barely looking up from his pacman game.

"Never mind." Demeter muttered.

**I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**

"That kid's gonna have an ego soon." Hephaestus smirked.

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

"Good." Athena nodded approvingly.

"I forgive the boy now" she added.

"Like _my son _was asking for her permission." Poseidon muttered, rolling his eyes. Lucky for him, Athena didn't hear him.

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers.**

"Good for the boy." Artemis said.

**At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam.**

Athena frowned but didn't say anything, probably because of the glare Poseidon was sending her way.

**I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

"Awww" Aphrodite and Hera cooed.

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office.**

Everybody was leaning in their seats, curious as to who those voices are.

**Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said"... worried about Percy, sir."**

"Why would he be worried?" Athena asked.

"Maybe because of the mist?" Artemis answered uncertainly.

"Yeah, maybe." Athena chose to let it slide.

**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper,**

"Right" Hermes said sarcastically. Apollo and Ares snickered.

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

"Ooh, that's hard." Apollo said.

"Impossible is the word." Hermes stated.

**I inched closer.**

**"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school !**

Poseidon glared at Hades.

**Now that we know for**

**sure, and they know too—"**

"Know what?" Athena asked aloud.

Nobody answered her but they were also wondering that.

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

"Mature." Ares snorted.

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead-line—"**

"Deadline? What's this about a deadline?" Athena asked again.

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he saw her... ."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

"Why are they trying to keep him in the dark?" Athena was now frustrated, not knowing the answers for once.

"This sucks." She cried and crossed her arms.

The others gave weak chuckles despite the rising curiosity.

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"I wonder what happened to the satyr?" surprisingly, it was Zeus who asked this. (Thalia is still around 7 or 8 years

old so the whole turning-into-a-pine-tree thing didn't happen yet)

Everyone arched an eyebrow at him.

"What? I've been quiet for way too long." was his answer.

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

"Alive? Why? Is my son's life in danger?" Poseidon asked.

"Well, seeing as you have two brothers who are after your son, I'd say, yeah, he's pretty much in danger." Apollo

answered in a casual tone.

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

Hermes and Apollo gasped.

"Rule no. 1: _Never_, and I mean _never, _give away your position when spying."

Hermes' eyes glinted with mischief as he turned to Poseidon.

"Uncle P, can I _please _teach you son the art of ly-"

"No." Poseidon interrupted.

"But-"

"I said no, Hermes. You are _not _teaching my son your dark ways" Poseidon glared at him.

Hermes crossed his arm, "Getting rejected twice in day? My life is just great" he huffed. The others chuckled at his childish attitude.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

"That's good. Make a get-away as fast as you can and never leave evidence behind." Hermes commented,

forgetting about his rejections.

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"Why is he in his true form? That could blow his cover." Hera asked.

"I think it gets a little uncomfortable, being stuck in a wheel-chair that is." Dionysus answered.

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

"Wow, that punk avoided Chiron." Ares stated.

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

"Why? What the hell happened in the winter solstice?" once again it was Athena who asked this, and once again she was rewarded with silence.

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

"Ugh, exams." Ares, Apollo and Hermes groaned.

**"Don't remind me."**

"Exactly" Apollo muttered.

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

"Hey, Uncle P, looks like your son's not hopeless after all." Apollo grinned.

Poseidon rolled his eyes.

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

"The kid's lucky. A clean get-away." Hephaestus grumbled.

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

"Seems the satyr isn't that hopeless either." Hermes smirked.

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just... tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

"That's not going to work. Satyrs have an annoying ability of feeling your emotions." Dionysus shook his head.

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

"Poor dear." Hestia frowned.

"I know." Demeter agreed.

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

"Well there's the Lord of the Dead after him..."Hermes started

"_and_ the Lord of the Sky..." Apollo trailed off

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,**

"Three hours!" the male gods gasped

"Oh please, you're exaggerating. Three hours isn't _that _long." The goddess of wisdom rolled her eyes.

The others all stared at her.

"Wow, you have _got _to have a life" Apollo spoke up.

Athena scowled at him and was about to retort when Demeter decided to continue, **my eyes swimming with all the Greek**

**and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

"Uh oh" Hermes said.

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."**

"Way to put it Chiron." Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"Relax brother, I'm sure Chiron didn't mean that." Hestia told him

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

"Oooh, looks like _somebody's _got a crush." Aphrodite giggled.

Poseidon had a look of horror on his face.

"Aphrodite, please oh please tell me you are joking and not thinking of pairing my boy with that...that _mortal_?"

Poseidon said in a horrified voice.

Aphrodite giggled again and waved her hand, "Don't worry Uncle P, I'm not _planning _to put those two together.

Besides, Percy and Nancy? Not a good combination." she sniffed.

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"Wow, Chiron _really _has a way with words." Apollo stated sarcastically.

**My eyes stung.**

"Baby" Ares mocked. He was met with a bucket of cold water and a smirking sea-god.

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

"Well, if he puts it that way..." Apollo trailed off.

**"Right," I said, trembling.**

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

The gods chuckled at Chiron's demise.

"Nice one Chiron. _Definitely _making it better." Athena rolled her eyes.

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.**

**"Percy—"**

**But I was already gone.**

"Poor boy, taking it the wrong way." Demeter shook her head.

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.**

"Try from a family of gods, boy" Zeus smirked.

The others chuckled and looked proud.

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.**

"Well, that's rude." Hera sniffed.

"Boys, I don't understand them at all." Artemis rolled her eyes.

**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

"Coincidence much." Dionysus smirked.

"Oh, Mr. D, you're still _alive_?" Apollo gasped mockingly.

Dionysus ignored the sun god.

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers.**

"At least the satyr's smart enough to be careful." Zeus grumbled.

"I train my satyrs well, Father." Dionysus had a smug smile on his face. The other gods rolled their eyes.

**It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased.**

**But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

"Finally, the boy's starting to sense." Athena said exasperatedly.

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

"That must've given Grover a heart attack." Apollo snickered. The others chuckled.

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"**

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.**

Hermes shook his head disapprovingly, "Rule no. 2: _Never_ admit anything."

Poseidon rolled his eyes, "My son's alright on his own. It's good that he's honest."

**Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"**

"Same rule's applied to Grover." Apollo shook his head as well.

**"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

"Just what I'm wondering." Athena muttered.

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ..."**

**"Grover—"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no**

**such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

"Grover is a _really really _bad liar." Apollo and Hermes laughed.

Demeter chuckled upon reading the next line.

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

The other gods let out laughs.

"You're starting to get the Percy-fever" Ares snickered.

The two gods stuck out their tongues.

"At least we're awesome." Apollo said.

"That doesn't even make sense." Artemis stated.

"It doesn't have to, we're gods." Hermes grinned.

Artemis rolled her eyes and muttered, "Boys."

**His ears turned pink.**

"Just like D here when he gets _too _drunk." Hephaestus snorted.

"Oh shut up." Dionysus rolled his eyes.

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes,**

The gods who have children turned to glare at Dionysus.

"D.." Zeus warned.

**but I finally made out something**

**like:**

**Grover Underwood**

**Keeper**

**Half-Blood Hill**

**Long Island, New York**

"Why the hell would you print it that way?" Hermes asked.

Dionysus smirked. "It's amusing imagining them reading it" he answered.

**"What's Half—"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

"Rich, right." Dionysus snorted.

**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

"Mansion?" Dionysus raised an eyebrow.

"Well, there is the Big House D. I guess that count's as a mansion." Apollo said thoughtfully.

**He nodded. "Or ... or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

"Percy!" the elder goddesses reprimanded the book.

"That's not nice." Hestia frowned.

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"Oh, well, at least he knows." Hestia smiled a little.

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him.**

"Wouldn't blame the boy." Hades muttered.

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.**

**"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

"From monsters!" Hermes and Apollo shouted.

The gods, startled, nearly fell off their thrones.

Seeing this, the two brothers started laughing manically, earning them glares from the others.

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

"Just their luck." Hera rolled her eyes.

"I bet it's another monster." Ares said.

"Don't say that!" Poseidon growled, gripping his trident. He did _not _like his son to be facing another monster again.

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine com-partment, the driver announced that we'd all have**

**to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the **

**highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from pass-ing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of **

**asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

"Why would he notice that?" Artemis wondered.

"It probably has something to do with the chapter's title." Athena answered her.

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs **

**of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in **

**the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

Athena and Hades felt that this scene seemed to be oddly familiar.

_Old ladies, hmm. _Athena thought.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of **

**them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

_Socks? Knitting? What in Hades is – the Fates! _Athena gasped together with Hades. The others gave them

questioning looks, but they just waved it off.

_No, it couldn't be. I hope I'm wrong. _ She thought grimly but she was almost, positively sure it was the Fates.

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white **

**bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

"THE FATES!" Poseidon yelled, standing up. The others gasped as well, not believing it for a second. Surely the

Fates aren't that cruel, showing up in front of a twelve year old. They turned to Athena for confirmation. She nodded sadly.

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

"No no no no no no." Poseidon began chanting as he paced the room, blood draining from his face. No one tried to calm him down, even Zeus didn't stop him.

They knew how hard this must be for him.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face.**

**His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

"Please tell him they're not, Percy." Poseidon whispered, desperation in his voice, his face becoming paler if that was possible.

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

"Not funny Percy." They all said through gritted teeth. They didn't like seeing their brother/uncle this way. They

_especially _didn't like knowing their nephew/cousin (whom they've grown to like, even for those who won't admit it) is

going to go through this in the future. They were seriously not liking the Fates right about now.

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I**

**heard Grover catch his breath.**

The other gods paled. They knew what was about to happen next and they didn't like it one bit.

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

"Yes Percy, get on the bus. Listen to the satyr." Poseidon said in a weak voice.

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

They all groaned.

"Brother, is your son _asking _for a death wish or is this stubborn-as-a-mule attitude genetically altered in your

blood." Hades face-palmed.

As much as he dislikes the fact that his brother broke the oath, he didn't like his nephew to die that way.

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic.**

Poseidon slumped back on his seat, feeling defeated and worn-out.

His eyes glazed over. He couldn't believe that just happened to his son.

**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

No one cracked a smile or laughed, the tension sucking out their energies. Even they were afraid of the Fates, how

much more a young boy.

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment.**

**The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

**The passengers cheered.**

"Great timing bus." Apollo muttered.

He was a little angry at the Fates. He was really liking his cousin.

**"Darn right!"yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.**

"Oh no.." Poseidon said quietly. He put his face in his hands.

The others gave him sympathetic looks and Hestia put a comforting hand on his shoulders.

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

"No boy. They're much worse." Zeus said grimly and the others nodded in agreement.

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds.**

"You got that right Perce." Hermes barely whispered.

**He said, "Just tell me what yousaw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

Poseidon's hands clenched into fists. It hurt more knowing his son really did see it. Anger boiled inside him towards

the Fates but he kept it in tack, knowing it would be useless to go against the them. He comforted himself with the

facts that this doesn't happen 'till the future and there are still four more books left about his son.

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't.**

**It was something else, something almost—older.**

The Olympians did this sign as well.

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

"A very big deal Percy." Athena said grimly.

**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

**"What last time?"**

"What last time?" they asked together the same instant that Demeter read the line.

Some cracked a smile but it quickly faded away.

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

The gods looked down in sadness. They never wanted that life for their kids, only stopping until sixth grade.

"_This _is why I don't want you having demigod children." Hera huffed.

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

"Yes Percy. Promise him." Poseidon said, worry in his voice.

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

Poseidon, like the other gods, felt a little relieved, knowing that Grover is there to protect Percy.

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

The gods all groaned.

"Patrick Jefferson, you just have the best luck ever." Dionysus sighed.

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.**

"And that's the end of the chapter." Demeter sighed heavily.

"Who's reading next?" she asked.

Sad and mournful faces turned to her. They were all too affected and distracted by that chapter to react right away.

"I will sister." Hestia raised her hand, seeing as nobody seemed to be volunteering. Demeter smiled and handed

her the book. They all wished that the next chapter would be somewhat relieving.

Hestia cleared her throat and read, **Chapter 3: Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants.**

* * *

**Hey guys! how did you like it? did you enjoy reading? I hope you did :)**

**So, please review. Please please please please please. It would really make my day and give me the will to finish the next chapter earlier. Please (puppy dog-eyes).**

**Thank you! :)))))**


	4. Author's note (please read)

**Hello, it's me, Angie. I'm really sorry I haven't been updating for a long time now. It's just really hard to continue a story this long. Every time I face the computer screen, I just can't find the inspiratione. It's really really hard to write a story like this, with so many characters. Again, I'm really sorry. You have no idea how ashamed I am for letting you guys down.**

**But I'm back again. I'll finish the books, and I don't care how long it takes. I prayfully hope that you'll continue reading my fic. Thank you for all the reviews so far and for those who favorited (is that a word?) my fic.**

**I Love you guys, and thank you so so much.**

** Please bear with me. It's summer so hopefully I can update faster since I basically don't have anything to do.**

**xoxo Angie :)**


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